St. Paul the Apostle was perplexed with the Galatian Church. Many members of it had reverted to idolatry or to the Law of Moses, both of which he considered to be forms of spiritual slavery. As he instructed the Corinthian Church, the proper course of action was to pass the test and remember that they carried Jesus Christ inside them. In Christ, according to St. Paul, was liberation, although not to engage in negative activities, but to build up the faith community, and to pursue virtue (2 Corinthians 12:19-21).

The theme of rebelling against God unites these days’ readings. Nadab and Abihu, sons of Aaron, laid incense upon their fire pans in violation of divine instructions. This constituted sacrilege and an attempt to control God.

Further, the sin of the two brothers was not simply that they went too far in their super-piety. Rather, they acted in utter disregard for the deity. God intended that the manifestation of His Presence would ignite the altar fire, marking His acceptance of His people’s devotion. Their intent was for the divine fire to ignite their own pans; that is, they were attempting to arrogate control of the deity for themselves.

—The Jewish Study Bible, Second Edition (2014), page 216

Divine fire consumed the two priests.

Disregard for God was present in the population as a whole. Idolatry and arrogance were difficult habits to break. This was true in Biblical times, as in the days of Elisha. It was true in the time that Jesus of Nazareth walked the face of the earth.

It remains true today, for human nature is a constant factor.

God is a consuming fire. Fire is a destructive force, reducing much to ashes. Yet destruction is frequently part of a creative process, as in the renewal of ecosystems in forests. Divine fire destroys the corrupt and idolatrous, and arrogant so that seeds of fidelity, justice, and humility may germinate.

Jesus faced a difficult decision, and he resolved to take up his cross. His challenge to the Apostles to do likewise has applied to members of generations for nearly 2000 years. Will we be faithful or will we seek the easy way out? Will we turn away from the truth, or will we act as people with Jesus Christ in them? Will we follow the fire of the Holy Spirit or will we risk the fire of divine punishment?

Arrogance can be easy to muster and humility can be difficult to manifest. I know this well, for

I have been prone to intellectual arrogance, and

humility can be painful.

To be fair, some people I have known have nurtured my intellectual arrogance via their lack of intellectual curiosity and their embrace of anti-intellectualism. That reality, however, does nothing to negate the spiritual problem. I am glad to report, however, that it is a subsiding problem, by grace.

The internal chronology of the Book of Daniel defies historical accuracy; I came to understand that fact years ago via close study of the text. The Book of Daniel is folkloric and theological, not historical and theological. The folktale for these three days concerns King Nebuchadrezzar II (a.k.a. Nebuchadnezzar II), King of the Chaldean/Neo-Babylonian Empire, who reigned from 605 to 562 B.C.E. The arrogant monarch, the story tells us, fell into insanity. Then he humbled himself before God, who restored the king’s reason.

So now I, Nebuchadnezzar, praise, exalt, and glorify the King of Heaven, all of whose works are just and whose ways are right, and who is able to humble those who behave arrogantly.

–Daniel 4:34, TANAKH: The Holy Scriptures (1985)

This is folklore, not history, but the lesson regarding the folly of arrogance is true.

The Parable of the Wicked Tenants (Mark 12:1-12) exists in the context of conflict between Jesus and Temple authorities during the days immediately prior to his death. In Chapter 11 our Lord and Savior cleansed the Temple and, in a symbolic act, cursed a fig tree as a sign of his rejection of the Temple system. In Chapters 11 and 12 Temple authorities attempted to entrap Jesus in his words. He evaded the traps and ensnared his opponents instead. In this context Jesus told the Parable of the Wicked Tenants. The vineyard was Israel, the slain slaves/servants were prophets, and the beloved son was Jesus. The tenants were the religious leaders in Jerusalem. They sought that which belonged to God, for Christ was the heir to the vineyard.

1 Timothy 6:11-21 continues a thread from earlier in the chapter. Greed is bad, we read:

But those who want to be rich fall into temptation and are trapped by many senseless and harmful desires that plunge people into ruin and destruction. For the love of money is a root of all kinds of evil, and in their eagerness to be rich some have wandered away from the faith and pierced themselves with many pains.

–6:9-10, The New Revised Standard Version (1989)

Faithful people of God, however, are to live differently, pursuing righteousness, godliness, faith, love, endurance, and gentleness (verse 11). The wealthy are to avoid haughtiness and reliance on uncertain riches, and to trust entirely in God (verse 17). Further instructions for them include being generous and engaging in good works (verse 18).

Complete dependence upon God is a Biblical lesson from both Testaments. It is a pillar of the Law of Moses, for example, and one finds it in 1 Timothy 6, among many other parts of the New Testament. Colossians 2:6-15 drives the point home further, reminding us that Christ has cancelled the debt of sin.

Forgiveness as the cancellation of debt reminds me of the Parable of the Unforgiving Servant (Matthew 18:23-35). A king forgave a large debt–10,000 talents–a servant owed to him. Given that one talent was fifteen years’ worth of wages for a laborer, and that the debt was therefore 150,000 years’ worth of wages, the amount of the debt was hyperbolic. The point of the hyperbole in the parable was that the debt was impossible to repay. The king was merciful, however. Unfortunately, the servant refused to forgive debts other people owed to him, so the king revoked the debt forgiveness and sent the servant to prison.

So my heavenly Father will also do to every one of you, if you do not forgive your brother or sister from your heart.

–Matthew 18:35, The New Revised Standard Version (1989)

Just as God forgives us, we have a responsibility to forgive others. Doing so might require us to lay aside illusions of self-importance. That has proven true in my life.

The path of walking humbly with God and acknowledging one’s total dependence upon God leads to liberation from illusions of grandeur, independence, and self-importance. It leads one to say, in the words of Psalm 16:1 (Book of Common Worship, 1993):

Blessed Lord, who caused all holy scriptures to be written for our learning:

Grant us so to hear them, read, mark, learn, and inwardly digest them,

that we may embrace and ever hold fast the blessed hope of everlasting life,

which you have given us in our Savior Jesus Christ;

who lives and reigns with you and the Holy Spirit,

one God, for ever and ever. Amen.

–The Book of Common Prayer (1979), page 236

++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++

The Assigned Readings:

Jeremiah 11:11-23

Psalm 97 (Morning)

Psalms 16 and 62 (Evening)

Matthew 24:1-28

+++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++

The author of Psalm 62, in the context of persecution because of his holiness, wrote:

Yet be still my soul, and wait for God:

from whom comes my hope of deliverance.

–verse 5, A New Zealand Prayer Book (1989)

I detect echoes of the Jeremiah and Matthew readings in the Psalms appointed for today. The above quote is just one example of that.

Jeremiah, the weeping prophet, fulfilled his unpleasant duty faithfully while arguing with God. The prophet announced doom for idolatry and a host of social injustices–in short, breaking the covenant with God, per Deuteronomy 30:15-20. The prophet placed himself in harm’s way by doing this. He likened himself to a docile sheep led to the slaughter and asked God to avenge him.

That image of a lamb led to the slaughter is one which Christian tradition has applied to Jesus, although he was hardly docile in Matthew 24 and elsewhere. Our Lord and Savior was far from docile in Matthew 21 (“the Temple Incident,” as New Testament scholars call it) or in John 18 or in Matthew 26. Yet the image of a lamb, when applied to Jesus, works well, for he was both the high priest and the sacrificial animal, metaphorically speaking.

In Mathew 24 Jesus warned the Apostles against, among other ills, false prophets and religious persecution:

You will be handed over for punishment and execution; all nations will hate you for your allegiance to me. At that time many will fall from their faith; they will betray one another and hate one another. Many false prophets will arise, and will mislead many; and as lawlessness spreads, the love of many will grow cold. But whoever endures to the end will be saved. And this gospel of the kingdom will be proclaimed throughout the earth as a testimony to all nations; and then the end will come.

–verses 9-14, The Revised English Bible

This is a devotion for November 7, at the latter part of the Season after Pentecost. Advent is not far away from November 7–less than one month, in fact. (Advent can begin as early as November 27 and as late as December 3.) By November 7 the Sunday readings in the Revised Common Lectionary have taken a dark turn.

Yet, in the darkness of the tail end of Ordinary Time there is hope. Yes, Jeremiah suffered greatly, but God proved him correct. And nobody who tried to kill the prophet succeeded. Yes, sometimes there is persecution for following Jesus, but God still wins in the end. And God is faithful to the faithful, some of whom will lose their bodies in service to God but none of whom will lose their souls thereby. And Advent is around the corner. Christmas will follow. The summary of the hope of which I write is the Sovereignty of God.

KENNETH RANDOLPH TAYLOR

JUNE 3, 2013 COMMON ERA

THE FEAST OF SAINT MORAND OF CLUNY, ROMAN CATHOLIC MONK AND MISSIONARY

THE FEAST OF SAINTS LIPHARDUS OF ORLEANS AND URBICIUS OF MEUNG, ROMAN CATHOLIC ABBOTS

Blessed Lord, who caused all holy scriptures to be written for our learning:

Grant us so to hear them, read, mark, learn, and inwardly digest them,

that we may embrace and ever hold fast the blessed hope of everlasting life,

which you have given us in our Savior Jesus Christ;

who lives and reigns with you and the Holy Spirit,

one God, for ever and ever. Amen.

–The Book of Common Prayer (1979), page 236

++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++

The Assigned Readings:

Deuteronomy 9:1-22 (October 10)

Deuteronomy 9:23-10:22 (October 11)

Psalm 97 (Morning–October 10)

Psalm 51 (Morning–October 11)

Psalms 16 and 62 (Evening–October 10)

Psalms 142 and 65 (Evening–October 11)

Matthew 11:1-19 (October 10)

Matthew 11:20-30 (October 11)

+++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++

Dark clouds surround the readings for these days. In Deuteronomy 9:6 (TANAKH: The Holy Scriptures) Moses tells the Israelites:

Know then that it is not for any virtue that your God is giving you this good land to possess, for you are a stiff-necked people.

Subsequently described events confirm that statement. And only the intercessions of Moses, who suffered for the people, spare them from destruction by God.

Speaking of suffering intercessors, we have Jesus in Matthew 11. He fasts and critics accuse him of excessive asceticism. He eats and drinks and critics allege that he is a glutton and a drunkard. What is a Son of God and Son of Man to do? Whatever he does, someone criticizes him. Yet he finds a more responsive audience among many Gentiles. At least St. John the Baptist, distressed at the end of his life, had an honest question, not a predisposition to carping and to finding fault.

Many people are impossible to please. Others are merely extremely difficult to please. Still others are more persuadable via good evidence and are therefore less likely to prove unpleasant. I hope that I fall into the last category, not either of the first two, in God’s estimation. What more than that what God has done already must God do to persuade? Was liberating the Israelites insufficient? Was feeding them and providing water in the desert not enough? Is the Incarnation not to our liking? How stiff are our necks?

Blessed Lord, who caused all holy scriptures to be written for our learning:

Grant us so to hear them, read, mark, learn, and inwardly digest them,

that we may embrace and ever hold fast the blessed hope of everlasting life,

which you have given us in our Savior Jesus Christ;

who lives and reigns with you and the Holy Spirit,

one God, for ever and ever. Amen.

–The Book of Common Prayer (1979), page 236

++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++

The Assigned Readings:

2 Chronicles 29:1-24 (September 11)

2 Chronicles 31:1-21 (September 12)

Psalm 89:1-18 (Morning–September 11)

Psalm 97 (Morning–September 12)

Psalms 1 and 33 (Evening–September 11)

Psalms 16 and 62 (Evening–September 12)

Philippians 3:1-21 (September 11)

Philippians 4:1-23 (September 12)

+++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++

The 2006 Lutheran Church–Missouri Synod Daily Lectionary has led me through Philippians for a few posts, ending with this one. Thus time the other main readings come from 2 Chronicles. I have combined these lections because

They seem repetitive to me, and

They abound with mind-numbing details which seem meaningless to me in the context of the cross of Christ.

As much as I reject the idea that God smote nations for idolatry and sent them into exile, I also reject Penal Substitutionary Atonement. I reject both for the same reason: They make God look like a thug. I do not worship a thug.

Yet turning back to God is always positive. That was what King Hezekiah did. And that was what Paul encouraged, even if he did resort to invective, calling advocates of circumcision “dogs” in Philippians 3:2.

The God of my faith is the one who, in the Resurrection of Jesus, demonstrated the power to thwart evil plans. The God of my faith is the one who hears prayer requests and who

will supply all your needs out of the magnificence of his riches in Christ Jesus.

–Philippians 4:19, Revised English Bible

The God of my faith is the one whose servant St. Paul the Apostle urged his friends at Philippi to focus on

…all that is true, all that is noble, all that is just and pure, all that is lovable and attractive, whatever is excellent and admirable….

–Philippians 4:8, Revised English Bible

That is excellent advice everyday, but especially on and around September 11, now the anniversary of a date which will live in infamy. Violence in the name of God is not sacred, for the love of God is incompatible with “sacred” violence. Yes, self-defense is necessary sometimes, but let us never mistake such a sad and imposed duty for a sacred task. What will it profit a person to return hatred for hatred? He or she will lose his or her soul and not bring glory the executed and resurrected Lord and Savior, who overcame hatred and violence with divine power and love.

KENNETH RANDOLPH TAYLOR

FEBRUARY 3, 2013 COMMON ERA

THE FEAST OF NICHOLAS KASATKIN, ORTHODOX ARCHBISHOP OF ALL JAPAN

THE FEAST OF SAINT ANSKAR, ROMAN CATHOLIC ARCHBISHOP OF HAMBURG-BREMEN

Blessed Lord, who caused all holy scriptures to be written for our learning:

Grant us so to hear them, read, mark, learn, and inwardly digest them,

that we may embrace and ever hold fast the blessed hope of everlasting life,

which you have given us in our Savior Jesus Christ;

who lives and reigns with you and the Holy Spirit,

one God, for ever and ever. Amen.

–The Book of Common Prayer (1979), page 236

++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++

The Assigned Readings:

2 Samuel 5:1-25

Psalm 97 (Morning)

Psalms 16 and 62 (Evening)

1 Corinthians 8:1-13

++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++

For reasons I do not understand every list of kings of Israel and Judah I have seen in study Bibles excludes Ish-bosheth, son of Saul. He is there in 2 Samuel 2-4, living in David’s shadow. With that out of the way, I move along to David capturing Jerusalem and making it his capital city. The narrative of David is clear: He did well when he obeyed God.

Obeying God means putting away arrogance, which stands in the way of love. St. Paul, writing in 1 Corinthians 8, dealt with the issue of good offered to false gods. It is a shame to let good food go to waste, and we know that such alleged deities are not really gods, he wrote, but many other people do not know that. So, he continued, we who have this knowledge ought not to lead others astray, even accidentally. Proper concern for others is one principle at work in that line of reasoning. Another is the fact that people are accountable to each other in society.

At this time I call your attention, O reader to Mark 7:18-21a (The New Jerusalem Bible):

[Jesus] said to [his disciples], “Even you, don’t you understand? Can’t you see that nothing that goes into someone from outside can make that person unclean, because it goes not into the heart but into the stomach and passes into the sewer?” (Thus he pronounced all foods clean.) And he went on, “It is what comes out of someone that makes that person unclean. For it is from within , from the heart, that evil intentions emerge…..”

Those evil intentions, the list of which I did not replicate here, are what makes one unclean, according to verse 23.

If St. Paul knew of that saying and of Jesus pronouncing all food clean, he did not indicate that he did. Indeed, he died before the composition of the Gospel of Mark, but the oral tradition (at least that much) existed during St. Paul’s lifetime.

St. Paul made his statement about food offered to false gods in a particular cultural context. The application of principles varies according to contexts; reality cannot be any other way. The principle of not leading others astray, even by accident, is a timeless one. What applying it entails varies from setting to setting. My only caution is this: One must not take it to ridiculous extremes. People being people, some take offense very easily and quickly. One must not permit them to limit one’s actions, or else one will do nothing or too little. And that will be bad. No, we are called to act affirmatively for the good of others; that is what God wants us to do. We will do well to obey that command, however it translates into actions in our specific contexts.

KENNETH RANDOLPH TAYLOR

OCTOBER 25, 2012 COMMON ERA

THE FEAST OF SAINT PROCLUS, ARCHBISHOP OF CONSTANTINOPLE; AND SAINT RUSTICUS, BISHOP OF NARBONNE

Above: Hannah Presenting Her Son Samuel to the Priest Eli, by Gerbrand van den Eeckhout

Image in the Public Domain

Building Each Other Up

WEDNESDAY, JULY 17, and THURSDAY, JULY 18, 2019

++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++

Blessed Lord, who caused all holy scriptures to be written for our learning:

Grant us so to hear them, read, mark, learn, and inwardly digest them,

that we may embrace and ever hold fast the blessed hope of everlasting life,

which you have given us in our Savior Jesus Christ;

who lives and reigns with you and the Holy Spirit,

one God, for ever and ever. Amen.

–The Book of Common Prayer (1979), page 236

++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++

The Assigned Readings:

1 Samuel 1:1-20 (July 17)

1 Samuel 1:21-2:17 (July 18)

Psalm 89:1-18 (Morning–July 17)

Psalm 97 (Morning–July 18)

Psalms 1 and 33 (Evening–July 17)

Psalms 16 and 62 (Evening–July 18)

Galatians 5:1-26 (July 17)

Galatians 6:1-18 (July 18)

+++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++

Hannah’s worth as a human being and as a woman had nothing to do with her reproductive system. Yet at least one other person (Peninnah) thought that it did, and the stress of the situation affected Hannah negatively. That spiritual crisis was real. That emotional pain was real. And God relieved both.

My brief summary of Galatians 5 and 6 follows:

Christian liberty carries with it the obligation to love one’s neighbor as one loves oneself: to think of others more than oneself (without harming oneself needlessly), to seek the common good, to help others shoulder their burdens, to relieve others of other burdens, to practice to fruit of the Holy Spirit, which The New Jerusalem Bible, in 5:22-23, lists as “love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, trustfulness, gentleness, and self-control.”

I prefer to focus on the positive (the “you shall” list) rather than on the negative (the “you shall not” list) for three reasons:

Listing what is forbidden does not necessarily indicate what is allowed;

Focusing on the negative portrays morality in a bad light; and

Focusing on the positive fills one’s time with good attitudes and deeds.

The positive deeds we are free to do entail building each other up, not tearing each other down. In contrast, Peninnah tore Hannah down. Then God built her up.

Sometimes it is easier to say that one ought to be gentle than it is to be gentle, for some human beings (often unintentionally) make that difficult. I have faced this challenge and not always done as well as I should. Yet I remain mindful of the goal, toward which I continue to press, by grace.